Brother?
by Watcher321
Summary: It was the defeat of Lucemon and things didn't go according to plan. Koji Minamoto is trapped in the digital world, possibly dead, and none of his friends can get to him. Years are passing and evil forces are on the rise, but without the aid of the legendary warriors, who will save the digital world?
1. Prologue

Okay, so this is my first fanfiction ever so feel free to critique, give advice, etc etc. :) Friend at school told me that writing a Frontier fanfiction was impossible, so ta-da! I'm a little nervous about how to characterize some of the characters-mainly the only two that will be in this story. You can probably guess from the title. X3 I might introduce other members of the anime cast in later chapters. Anyway, please review, I love feedback of any sort, chapter one will be up soon! :)

* * *

><p>"No! Impossible!" Lucemon Larvae Mode shrieked as the huge humanoid digimon came barreling through his attack. First they had survived the end of the Digital World, forced their way into his very being, and now this! Oh, it made him want to see their end even more!<p>

"Impossible is our specialty!" Susanoomon replied, barreling down on him. Such insolence! He was supposed to be creating Utopia, the new Digital World! Not playing with these weaklings! Suddenly, a shot of glee leaped through him as one of the needles hit the annoying pest. Unfortunately, it was to be short lived, not even a second went by and they were back shouting, "You'll need more than that!"

"Nooo! I cannot be defeated by humanns!" He cried as the digimon Susanoomon, not even as big as he was, punched his Larvae Mode in the head, yelling "Guess again!" and he fell away, torn and broken. The dark ball held in the claws of Lucemon's Dragon Mode burst, and the great purple dragon went insane.

"No one's controlling it anymore, it's out of control!" Bokomon, a small white digimon with a gray beak and pink waistband called out from his safe vantagepoint along with Neemon, Patamon, Lopmon, and Salamon

Koji Minamoto watched from inside the eyes of Susanoomon as Lucemon Dragon Mode roared and released scorching flames from it's jaws. He felt his friends and the spirits of the Ten Legendary Warriors pressing in on him on every side, yet not feeling even slightly claustrophobic. So many minds in one body, and yet each and every one of them was in sync with the others. Truly incredible. Koji couldn't help but think of Koichi, his brother. Why had he needed to sacrifice himself earlier? It wasn't fair. But he needed to focus, and now they all gazed at the rampaging Dragon Mode.

"It's time to end this for good!" Koji yelled along with the rest of his friends, and they emitted a fiery-looking ring which caused swirling cloud formations to form. Dragon Mode roared in rage and confusion. Susanoomon crossed his arms and the sun-like semicircle glowed. They yelled in unison and shot a beam of light into the swirling purple clouds. "Heaven Slicer!"

The golden beam connected with the cloud formations and the attack rained down multiple golden dragons which pinned the out-of-control Dragon Mode to the ground that wasn't there.

"And so, it ends." Susanoomon said. He drew particles into his palms and soon there appeared a blaster-looking mechanism. "Celestial Blade!" Together, the friends and the spirits in Susanoomon drew back the mechanism, which now had a glowing ball on it's end, and an incredible glowing sword emerged.

"You! Who would destroy both worlds with your evil, feel the power of the legendary warriors and perish!" Susanoomon swung the great sword, and Lucemon Dragon Mode screamed, and all the data he had collected for so long flowed back into the shell that remained of the digital world.

"Yay, we saved the world!" Neemon, a bipedal yellow digimon, the same size as Bokomon, who wore red sweat pants yelled from inside the protective bubble that had shielded the small group of digimon during the attack. "Finally!" Bokomon sighed. Suddenly Patamon, a small digimon who looked like a flying guinea pig with bat-winged ears, gasped and came up behind them saying, "But if we really won, then what is attacking us!"

Susanoomon gasped and turned around to find Lucemon Larvae Mode charging him from behind, yelling "Yaaaaaaaaaaaah!" All the spirits cried out "No!" and the human children were cast from the digimon's body. Koji and his friends watched in shock as Lucemon hit Susanoomon in the stomach. "Even this won't bring you victory." The spirits growled.

"If I am defeated, I'll take you with me!" Lucemon shrieked. "So be it, just as long as you're defeated! Now let's take care of that thing for good." The spirits replied, and Susanoomon took the sword and jerked his wrist, causing all the heavy machinery to fall off.

Then each of the spirits left Susanoomon's body and took their turn dealing a blow to Lucemon. "Once again, the forces of good have triumphed over you!"

"No! It's impossible!" Lucemon screamed, as his image began to become unstable. Turning away from the spirits, he shouted, "If we are going down then the humans must come too!" And a bright beam of energy shot towards Takuya, Koji, Zoe, J.P and Tommy. Bokomon and his friends gasped as the children scattered, and all made it, except the closest one. As Lucemon finally disintegrated into data, everyone there shouted a single name: "Koji!"


	2. Chapter 1: OneHundred in One Years

Alright! First real chapter up :) please rate and review, and especially critique. I could use feedback on how to characterize Koji and Koichi. Also, sorry the paragraphs aren't indented, I type this on mobile and so can't indent. :/ Enjoy! :D

* * *

><p><em>Day of Lucemon's Defeat<em>

Ooh... my head hurts. No, everything hurts. What happened? Am I dead? No, dead people don't feel pain. But if I'm not dead, then where am I? It's dark... Takuya? J.P? Anyone?

_Human World-One Week_

Koichi Kimura walked down the street on his way home from school. Passing a television store, he paused to watch the news. It was yet more on his "missing" brother. Right now it showed his tearful father having an interview, begging the public to "find my son!" Koichi frowned angrily and walked on, scuffing his shoe on the ground. Sure, his father was worried, but what about him? Takuya and the others, after finding him in the hospital, had told him everything, and together they had sworn to reveal nothing about the digital world or Koji's whereabouts. If Koji was still alive, he'd find them. When Koji had been confirmed missing, it had been incredibly hard to keep quiet. Especially when his mom got back in contact with his father to search. His _father._ Although Koichi no longer hated Koji, he bore a deep-seated grudge towards his father. Why had he abandoned his mother to live like she did? It wasn't fair! And then there was the talk he'd had with his parents the night the search began, when he'd had to pretend to be surprised. It hurt deeply.

_Digital World-5 years_

I can see now. That's good. I'm not sure how I got my vision back, but I did. I think I might be a ghost... or something. I can walk through objects, and when I try and pick something up my hand just passes through... if you can call it a hand. I dunno what it looks like, I can't see it. Or any of me. It's just there. The digital world is kinda barren right now... but every year I see new trees springing up. There's a spot in a small forest where a bunch of digieggs are lying. I think it's a Village of New Beginnings of sorts.

_Human World-1 month_

Searches were getting more desperate, police were starting to think Koji was dead. _He's not dead!_ Koichi wanted to scream, in part to convince himself. But Takuya had told him about the time rift, and if Koji was alive to begin with he'd have to have died of old age by now. Koichi had been mistaken for Koji several times now, blue, almost black, long hair, average-looking build. He even dressed pretty similar to how Koji used to dress. On top of that, their family dispute was now public, and many people criticized his parents for not keeping him and Koji together. If only he knew where Koji was...

_Digital World-15 years_

All the eggs have hatched, and now there's baby and in-training digimon all over the place. Bokomon, Neemon, Angemon and the others are doing their best to take care of all of them. Heh... Bokomon's going baby-crazy again. One of the older in-training digimon is starting to look out for the others. I wonder if that's how the caretaker of the Village of New Beginnings got started...

_Human World-1 month, 2 weeks_

"Hey, son." Koichi's father said rather awkwardly as Koichi walked into the doorway in his apartment. He was sitting at the table with his mother, who looked very ill and tired after a day at work. They had been talking quietly when Koichi walked in.

"...Hi." He muttered, not meeting his father's gaze. He tried to hurry for his room, but his mother stopped him. "Koichi sweetie, how about you visit with us for a minute?"

"No thanks." He said curtly, making for his escape again.

"How was school son?" His father asked, probably trying to get him interested. "I said I don't want to talk!" The boy snapped, making for his room and flopping himself on the bed. Nobody tried to follow him, but Koichi almost wished they would.

_Digital World-23 years_

I'm bored. Just... so... bored. I've seen pretty much every baby digimon there is, and it's fun when they digivolve to rookie, but even that's getting old. Turuiemon, Angemon, and Gatomon have grown quickly. Each of them have reached the their Ultimate level, Antylamon, Magnaangemon, and Angewomon. Magnaangemon has even befriended an Angemon. I think Bokomon can tell when I'm around. He certainly pays keen attention. So does Angemon- the one Magnaangemon befriended. He acts weird whenever I come close. Even so, I think I'll leave the Village of New Beginnings. There must be something out there. Besides, I know every grain of dirt on this soil like the back of my hand. Literally! Sorry, Bokomon. It's just too quiet here.

_Human World-4 months_

"And so in the year 1987..." The blue-haired boy sighed as he slouched in his seat, chin on his school desk. The fact that he had been able to stop thinking about Koji for a few solid months amazed him, but his brother kept worming his way into his thoughts more and more often. What was he doing? How old was he now? Koichi had managed to convince himself Koji was alive, despite the declining frequency in searches. Normally searches could last for years, but Koji had grown up in the middle of a big city. Someone should have seen him by now. Police were starting to give up hope, and his parent's desperation was turning to grief. His dad came by more and more often, as if making up for losing one son by giving the other double the attention. As if that would make Koji come back... Wait!

A stick used for pointing-Koichi couldn't remember what it was called-rapped on his desk with a loud _smack!_ Koichi looked up into the stern face of his history teacher, Mr. Sagiyama. "Son." He said with a frown. "We need to talk."

Koichi got up and followed Mr. Sagiyama into the hallway, hearing some of the class snicker behind him. "Koichi..." His teacher sighed, turning around once they were in the privacy of the hall. Turning stern again, he gave the boy a harsh glare. "Mr. Kimura, this is the sixth time I've caught you spacing out the past month! You better start paying attention, son."

"Y-yes, Mr. Sagiyama. It's just that- well, I... actually..." As Koichi spoke rapidly, struggling to find words, the teacher shook his head sadly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, Koichi. I know you've been upset with the loss of your brother. Even if you never knew him, it's hard not to wonder. I know. But you need to move forward. If you have questions, get answers. Just don't shut the world out, okay?" "Y-Yessir." Koichi stuttered, his mind reeling with the thought that had just occurred. What if Koji _could_ come back?

_Digital World-30 years_

Never in my life did I think I'd be able to see an entire world grow firsthand. This is amazing, I wish someone were here to see this. Besides me, I mean. I think I'm actually enjoying seeing all the digimon separate into villages, and watch trailmon learn to go run the rails. I always liked history class- not that I'd let Takuya know.

_Human World-4 months, 1 week_

"Takuya!" Koichi yelled, running down the sidewalk with his jacket flapping. The spiky brown-haired boy wearing goggles turned to see and stared in astonishment. _"Koichi?"_

"Yeah, I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but I really need to talk to you!" He blurted out, skidding to a halt. Takuya finally blinked and said, "What?"

"It's about Koji!" He said, and that got Takuya's attention. "Say no more." He spoke crisply, motioning to a sheltered spot behind the trees that lined the left side if the path. Once they were there, Koichi began breathlessly. "Takuya, I know this will sound crazy but you need to hear me out. I think there's a way to bring Koji back from the digital world." The goggle boy only blinked, so he continued. "I think that if we got into the terminal below the subway, where you and the others went, we could follow the trailmon tracks all the way to the digital world."

It seemed to take Takuya a minute to process it, but when he did, his eyes lit up. "Koichi you're a genius!" He shouted with joy. "Let's go tell Zoe!"

_Digital World-40 years_

I ran into a digimon today. Well... actually, it's more like I passed through it. He was running, and when he passed me he stopped. Scariest, highest-level digimon I've seen so far. Ultimate, possibly even Mega. It's hard to tell. He turned around and I saw he was almost all black, and wore a red-trimmed skirt of some sort. He had a pretty tough-looking sword on his belt. Seeing noone, of course, he kept running. And I followed him.

The black digimon's definitely trying to get somewhere... wait, why's he going into that cave? He's blocking the entrance... good thing I can walk through walls. Now he's headed down a fork in the tunnel... I see light up ahead. This cavern must be huge! ...Oh... my. Oh no. Ohh no.

_Human World-5 months_

Koichi sat in a wooden chair opposite the woman behind the school counseling desk. She had blond hair and typed away on a laptop near her. It was stupid. Stupid he had to be here. Stupid that that kid had thought he was depressed or something. Sure, he had been sad since his conversation with Takuya, but that didn't mean he was _depressed._ He sighed and waited for the counselor to finish.

"Alright, Koichi." She began gently. "I hear there's been a lot going on with you and your family. Since that seems as good a place to start as any, how have you been feeling about your parents?"

"Well... me and my dad haven't been getting along that well." He admitted. "But it's not like we hate each other or something." This was a lie, Koichi knew. He hated his dad for abandoning his mom.

The school counselor-Mrs. Monita-typed something on her laptop. "And your mom?"

"No, I love my mom. I wish she had a less stressful job."

"Mmhmm." Mrs. Monita pushed aside her laptop for a moment. "And how about your brother?"

Koichi stared at her in shock. "I- what?"

"What do you think about when you hear your brothers name? Do you miss him?"

In that moment Koichi's throat swelled. This was the first time anyone had really mentioned Koji around him. He wanted to tell Mrs. Monita everything, about the digital world, about Koji being trapped and possibly dead there, about how their plan to bring him back cancelled itself out after Tommy pointed out that they couldn't have neared the speed it took to get to the Digital World, about how Koichi still denied the possibility that Koji was dead because he could almost feel him out there. But no, Mrs. Monita wouldn't have believed a word, and he had sworn himself to secrecy anyway. So instead he replied, "I can't miss someone I never knew."

_Digital World-50 years_

The black digimon is called Tactimon, and he's planning with a huge Machinedramon to capture Seraphimon, Cherubimon and Ophanimon. That was all I heard, Machinedramon must have sensed me because he told Tactimon to meet another day. The past few villages I've been through have all mentioned three powerful digimon who are building castles at the corners of the digiworld. I need to find Seraphimon, or Ophanimon, or at least Bokomon. I need to warn them. But where are they?

_Human World-7 months_

Koichi walked through the train station, looking around for an elevator. He held his phone in his hand, fiddling with the buttons. If only Ophanimon would call, maybe with news on Koji. He knew it was wishful thinking, so if she wouldn't call him he would find the digital world on his own. Stepping onto an elevator and making sure he was alone, he poked around at the controls. There had to be a hidden panel or something to take him to the terminal.

_Digital World-55 years_

Man, you'd think being a ghost would at least give you some sort of fast-travel ticket. Luckily, I don't need one to ride the trailmon. That's one perk of being invisible. Seraphimons castle is said to be hidden near Forest Terminal, and due to previous events, I can assume this to be fact.

Well, that was easy to find. Thank you, previous digital world. Now I have a whole new problem. Rats. How do you get inside a castle when it's surrounded by a giant forcefield? This thing is even impenetrable to me, which after all this time, is really saying something. Come on Seraphimon, let me in!

_Human World-9 months, 2 weeks_

It didn't make sense. It didn't make any sense. The more Koichi thought about it, the less sense it made. He sat at the kitchen table in his mother's apartment, chewing on a pencil as he went over math homework. What was the square root of X? And how on earth was he supposed to know? Bored with math, he pushed it aside and lay his head on the table, closing his eyes.

_Koichi..._

With a gasp, Koichi's head flew up and he looked around.

"Oh! Are you alright honey?" With a start, Koichi realized his mom had just walked in the door. "Y-yeah, you just startled me." He said, forcing a smile. On the inside, however, he was trembling. He knew that voice.

_Digital World-80 years_

This is ridiculous... and boring. I haven't been this bored since the Village of New Beginnings. Where's Seraphimon? I hope he hasn't been captured already. Actually... scratch that. He probably _has_ been captured already. Tactimon and Machinedramon wouldn't delay their plans this long, surely? Oh no...

SERAPHIMON! Where have you been!? Do you know how long I've been waiting here!? Man, I wish he could hear me. At least I'm getting inside this stupid castle now. Angemon must have digivolved, there's a Magnaangemon with him.

...He was visiting the other celestials!? That's what took him so long!? Seriously...

_Human World-11 months_

Koichi was filled with frustration. He'd been hearing Ophanimons voice for months now but every time he tried to make contact she faded away. What was up with her?

_Digital World-100 years_

Warning them is harder than I thought. Nobody can hear me, see me, or even touch me. And it's not like I can just write on the wall. I think both Seraphimon and Magnaangemon can sense me. They both act odd when I'm within a certain distance. I've been trying to communicate with them for years. This is so frustrating, especially since I create the same effect outside the castle. If only I could use that to my advantage...

Oh no. Too late. Armies of digimon are converging on the forest kingdom. How did Tactimon and Machinedramon amass such a force? The shield that protects the castle is falling.

They were here. All those years to warn them, and they were here. Koji felt like such a failure as he watched Tactimon and two Ogremon burst into Seraphimons library. Seraphimon and Magnaangemon stood, attacks at the ready. A brown, leather-bound book sat on a table nearby.

"It's over, Seraphimon, now come quietly or else." Tactimon hissed.

"Never! Strike of the Seven Stars!" Seraphimon shouted, firing seven beams of light at Tactimon. Tactimon raised his sword and blocked it, glaring evilly from his steel face. "My turn." He growled. "Penetrating Blast!" The black-caped digimon rushed forward, thrusting his sword at Seraphimon.

"No!" Koji shouted, darting forward, and for the first time in one hundred years his hands grabbed a solid object.

Magnaangemon gasped in astonishment as his friend Seraphimon was pulled clear of the attack by some unseen force. This above all confirmed what he had sensed the past twenty years. There was another being in the castle with them... and it had just saved Seraphimons life. Before Magnaangemon could react, Tactimon was on Seraphimon again. "Ultimate Tactic!" He cried, bringing his sword downward. He did this once more, and Seraphimon fell unconscious. "No!" Magnaangemon shouted, surging towards Tactimon, but before he reached his target he was pinned by the two Ogremon.

"Don't worry." Tactimon said in a falsely sweet voice. "My master requires him alive. As for you," Tactimon picked up Seraphimons unconscious form and turned when he reached the door. "finish him." He ordered the two Ogremon. Then Tactimon made his escape.

Magnaangemon panicked for a second, but the two Ogremon were thrown off him by the same mysterious force. Shouting "Gate of Destiny!" He opened a large circle which sucked the two Ogremon in before closing. Racing for the table Magnaangemon grabbed the leather book sitting there-miraculously it had not been damaged-and flew out the window.

_Human World-1 year_

"Koichi..." Koichi woke in the night and sat up, looking around for the voice. "Koichi..." Gasping, the blue-haired boy realized that in place of his cell phone, a black and gray device with a small screen on the corner sat in place of his cell phone. His D-Tector. Grabbing it hastily, he picked up the gadget and whispered, "Ophanimon?"

"Koichi, you must find Koji."

Koichi gasped. "What?"

"Find Koji, but beware. Seraph..." Static interrupted the feminine voice, "What? Beware what?" He said in a low voice. "Careful... Ta... capture..."

Koichi's D-Tector beeped and the voice disconnected. But he knew what he had to do.

Preparing quickly and quietly, Koichi got dressed and filled a backpack with food for a month. Opening the door softly, he winced at the creaking sound, but no one stirred. Turning back, for the first time in a year Koichi gave a real smile and whispered, "Don't worry mom. I'm getting your son back."


	3. Chapter 2: Resistance

Okay! Sorry this took forever, finals are coming up so I haven't written as much. Unfortunately this chapter doesn't have much to offer, it does include important points though so read it anyway! Short and sweet, right? :) Next chapter will be longer, promise.

* * *

><p>Koichi stepped out if the elevator and gazed in awe at the terminal. He'd never imagined it so big! A lone angler trailmon waited on one of the tracks down below.<p>

"You ready?" The trailmon asked gruffly.

"Yes." He nodded, clutching the strap of his backpack.

"Ophanimon has instructed me to take you to an extremely dangerous area of the Digital World. Think you'll be able to handle it?"

Koichi gritted his teeth and stood more firmly on the ground. "I'm ready."

"Hop on." The trailmon instructed. As Koichi stepped through the door, he felt a strange sense of peace envelope him. He was going to get Koji back!

Magnaangemon huddled deep in a cave, staring at the brown book held in his hands. After all that had happened the past few days, he was still trying to process it. The great angel leaned back against the cave wall and closed his eyes, which were hidden underneath a purple helmet. It all still seemed like a dream.

_-Flashback-_

The Ultimate level digimon flew from the window of Seraphimons castle and hid in a clump of trees nearby. From his vantagepoint Magnaangemon could see scores of digimon either racing for cover or marching in armies. The entire forest kingdom was overrun! Apparently this Tactimon, he had heard one of the Ogremon say his name, had planned everything to the letter. He watched in horror as all the inhabitants of forest kingdom were rounded up and marched away. Had he seen Tactimon, he would have attacked and tried to get Seraphimon back. But he didn't see Tactimon, and so stayed hidden, clutching the book in his hands. He couldn't fight them all, as much as he wished he could.

Once the streets were clear, Magnaangemon flew off in search of Ophanimons castle. Surely Ophanimon could help him. Along the way he passed more and more settlements, each surrounded by an astounding number of digimon. How Tactimon and his master had planned this, and acquired the reinforcements, Magnaangemon had no clue. Most of the digimon in Forest Kingdom were peace-loving and didn't fight.

He arrived at Ophanimons castle to the sight of scores of digimon guarding the perimeter. He quietly backed away and hunkered underneath a bush, shivering. "They must have hundreds of followers!" He whispered to himself.

"They do." Magnaangemon leaped up at the sound of the voice, battle-ready. "Relax. I'm one of you." A rather large Oryxmon clomped out of the bushes. "I came from Cherubimon's castle."

Magnaangemon sighed in relief. Then paused, and swallowed. "So Cherubimon is...?" The gray, ram-like digimon tipped his golden horns to one side and nodded solemnly. "Gone."

Magnaangemon sank to his knees in despair, his eight wings drooping. "The three celestials were so powerful... what do we do without them? How does the digital world survive?"

Oryxmon closed his eyes. "I do not know."

Suddenly the earth trembled, and a great mammothmon stomped through the trees. With Tactimon on it's back.

"What do we have here?" He sneered. "Escapees? Last I checked, that wasn't allowed." He raised his sword, still in its casing. "You shall pay!"

"RUN!" Magnaangemon cried, swooping away into the trees. Flying was always faster. Behind him, he heard the cry of Oryxmon.

_-End Flashback-_

And now here he was, one day later. Hiding in a cave. Alone. The angel digimon had no idea what to do now. Magnaangemon sat up again and scootched closer to the cave wall, gazing at the book in his hands. Seraphimon had told him the book was a precious gift from his "papamom," Bokomon, and had requested he not open it until given permission. Supposedly Bokomon was the only one who could read the book, but he and Seraphimon had studied a little while in the Village of New Beginnings. Perhaps he could decipher it.

Magnaangemon fingered the front cover, then remembered Seraphimon being carried away by Tactimon. He wanted to honor his friends wish, at least for now. He set the book aside.

Sitting and pondering in the cave, Magnaangemon wondered yet again what to do. He was starving, but he certainly couldn't go out and buy food. All the villages were overrun. He'd probably be killed on sight anyway. He closed his hidden eyes and thought more. If he had escaped, and Oryxmon had escaped, perhaps others had too. And if others had escaped, then there was a chance he could find them. If he found enough of them, they could rout some of the villages and take them back. If they did that, they could fight. Magnaangemon's eyes snapped open underneath his helmet. That was it! He knew what to do now. What he and other escapees would do. They would form a resistance.


	4. Chapter 3: Bye-bye, Book!

Hey! Alright, I was hoping to get this chapter out by Christmas, but oh well. :/ Hope you enjoy, belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :D

**I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON**

* * *

><p>So he searched. And searched. The eight-winged angel searched far and wide, careful to stay out of sight. On his sixth day of searching, Magnaangemon slumped under a large tree, groaning in despair. The outlying villages was where it was safest, they were not so heavily guarded. But still, nobody hid in the woods roundabout. This wasn't going to happen. Why did he even bother? Plus, his stomach hurt terribly. It was hard to sustain an ultimate level digimon on nothing but meat apples.<p>

Suddenly the brush rustled about ten feet away from him. Magnaangemon instantly shot up and hid in the thankfully thick, leafy branches. A demidevimon and tsukaimon made their way out of the bushes. The Tsukaimon had what looked like a horn strapped to its back.

"So what are we looking for again?" Tsukaimon, who looked like a purple Patamon, asked. "Idiot!" The other bat-like digimon sniffed. "We're looking for the big digimon said to be hiding out here." Magnaangemon held his breath. That had to be him!

"Oh..." Tsukaimon said quietly. Then, "So whadda we do when we find him? Surely we're not big enough to fight." "Of course not!" Demidevimon snapped. "That's why when we find him we alert Blackgarurumon and the others.

Tsukaimon blinked at Demidevimon, who facepalmed (or wingpalmed) and began to slowly explain their job as they walked away into the brush. Once their voices faded away, Magnaangemon breathed a huge sigh of relief. This explained why no other digimon were here. The woods were being searched, apparently for him. It wasn't safe to stay here any longer. He patted the book he had tied securely to his waist and glided down from the tree. It was time to search elsewhere. However, before he could get going, the Demidevimon and his friend came back.

"There he is! Quick, get Blackgarurumon!" Demidevimon shouted. Tsukaimon pulled the horn off his back and let loose a long, low bellow. Faster than Magnaangemon would have thought possible, hordes of dark digimon poured from the direction of the closest village. "Excaliber!" Magnaangemon shouted, a purple sword appearing from a gauntlet on his left arm. He swung the sword around at his opponents and took to the sky, thankful there were not any flying digimon among the guards. He thought he was in the clear, but then the string which held Seraphimons book around his waist began to come loose.

"No!" He gasped, diving for the book which fell from his side. Down down it went, spinning as it fell. Blackgarurumon stood below, his jaws wide open. As Blackgarurumon caught it in his massive jaws, one of the pages tore.

"No!" Magnaangemon yelled in rage as the sound of ripping fibers rang across the small battlefield. In seething rage a charged Blackgarurumon. Excalibur glowed as he went for the black wolf's chest. Faster and faster he dove, until: "I'll save you Blackgarurumon!"

The great angel digimon gasped and pulled back, his toes lightly bumping the ground as he hovered, his eight wings beating in the silence. It was too late, however. The little Tsukaimons glowing blue fractal code unraveled and his image melted away. The horn he was carrying dropped to the ground. Blackgarurumon merely blinked and tossed the book to Demidevimon, who was ready to fall out of the sky in shock. "Hold that." He growled. "The commander will want a look at it." When he turned back, Magnaangemon was gone.

Hidden away behind a storm blown pile of trees, Magnaangemon hid his face in his arms. He had lost Seraphimons book, and he had killed the little Tsukaimon. He hadn't realized until now, fear does a lot to drown out thoughts, but Magnaangemon had thought the Tsukaimon almost adorable. He had never killed before in his life. Or fought for that matter. There had never been a need. And now the thought of causing pain, especially to a creature so much smaller than him, troubled him deeply.

Magnaangemon looked up and groaned as his stomach rumbled. Everything was feeling so hopeless. All of a sudden, something smacked him in the face. Magnaangemon yelped in shock and caught himself with one hand as he looked at the ground. A small, green meat apple rolled along the dirt.

He immediately jumped to his feet and looked around. Magnaangemon peered behind trees and poked into bushes, examining the ground for footprints. Nothing. He turned back to the fruit lying on the ground and picked it up, turning it over. The meat apple smelled very fresh, as if it had been picked recently. Upon closer examination of the other side, he found the words _WAKE UP _carefully peeled into the skin. The letters were crude, but readable nonetheless.

Magnaangemon didn't know what to make of the fruit. Actually, he was almost offended by the message. What did he need to wake up to? He knew what was going on! It was food, however, and didn't smell bad. There would be time to think on it later, so he wrapped the string from Seraphimons book around it to cook later. His jaw clenched at the thought of the book.

* * *

><p>Koichi stepped off the trailmon and was greeted by a black, stormy sky overhead. A barren wasteland swept out before him, and he clutched the strap of his backpack tightly. Turning to the angler trailmon, whose bobbing light lit up the blackness, he said matter-of-factly, "The Dark Continent." A hard gleam shadowed his eyes.<p>

"Don't kill the messenger. Ophanimon ordered me to bring you here. On that note, my work is done." The trailmon growled gruffly, and it chugged away into the black day.

* * *

><p>He's here. I can feel it. I need to find him quickly. But first thing's first. I have a book to steal.<p> 


	5. Chapter 4: The Ghost

Hello! Got this chapter up much sooner, it's a filler but I assumed everyone would be getting tired of Magnaangemon. I was. :) I did stumble a bit writing it, but enjoy!

**I do NOT own Digimon!**

* * *

><p>Images. Flashing scenes. Magnaangemon groaned and shifted as he slept. A book. The book. Torn pages. Flipping… sketches. Strange sketches. A black digimon. Warrior… what's a warrior? Apples… tons and tons of apples. Falling apples, pouring apples. Wake-up apples. Swords, armies, digimon. Fighting, war… Seraphimon... Tsukaimons everywhere! Run, must run… angry Tsukaimons… wake up… wake up!<p>

Magnaangemon gasped as he sat up, breathing heavily.

* * *

><p>The nights were dark, the days were dark, the land was dark, his mood was dark. Koichi paused a moment in his walking to look around, feeling depressed. Warrior of Darkness or not, everything just felt so… dark! He had been pleased to discover that once he had gotten off the Trailmon his cell phone had changed into his D-Tector again. But as useful as the device was for finding his spirits, which were no longer inside and had not been found yet, it couldn't tell him where Koji was. And the one place he knew Koji wouldn't be was the Continent of Darkness. Not unless he had no choice.<p>

Koichi grumbled to himself and continued his trek, sweeping his D-Tector from side to side as he scanned for his spirits. He trusted Ophanimon, but didn't see why she would chose the Continent of Darkness to drop him off. Was it simply his nature, or was something else going on? He didn't think he'd need his spirits anyway, but better safe then sorry. It wasn't like he knew how to get off this continent anyway. As the Warrior of Darkness, maybe. But so much had happened since then, his memory just wasn't working.

"Once upon a time, I got lost. Again." He snarled sarcastically as he came up against an impassable cliff. By now the blackness of the contintent was making him bored. There was very little life here. Spying a small wood nearby, and feeling slightly hopeful, he set off in the new direction. His friends had been in a forest when they first entered the continent, perhaps the gate was nearby.

Koichi set up camp as the sunless day slowly became blacker. He wished there were at least stars or something, they'd be something to look at. But he settled for the small campfire and set his pack down to lean against, fishing out a loaf of bread and cutting off a few slices with a pocket knife his father had given him when they'd met. Koichi gritted his teeth at the thought of his father, and hated the pocket knife, but it was a useful tool and so he kept it. He knew it wasn't Koji's fault now, but there was a score to settle with his dad.

So he let the thought of his father drop and looked at the fire until his eyes grew heavy. He thought about getting out his sleeping bag, but any motivation to do so vanished as he drifted off to sleep beside his bag.

Koichi woke the following morning to a depressing and overcast sky against the already overcast blackness. It would rain today. He grunted and propped himself off his backpack with his hands, and immediately started when he realized he wasn't alone.

A meramon had joined him in the night, and was sitting near the side of the still blazing fire. Koichi quickly stuffed his D-Tector in his backpack, it had lain out all night, and reached for his pocket knife, despite knowing it would be of no use.

"Relax." The flaming digimon grunted, without looking at him. Its gaze was concentrated on the fire. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

Koichi put the pocket knife down, but slipped on his backpack anyway. In case of a hasty escape. "I've never seen a meramon on the continent of darkness before." He remarked.

"Yeah." He replied. "We don't normally live here. I came here looking for something."

Koichi remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"I'm looking for the ghost." Meramon went on. "Well, not the ghost specifically, but I'm looking for it's signs. Rumor has it originated on this continent."

Koichi swallowed nervously. "A ghost, you say?" He almost whispered. Recovering his composure, he turned interestedly to Meramon. "What's this about a ghost? It's the first I've heard."

The digimon snorted in laughter. "Well, if you live here, then I suppose you wouldn't have heard of it." It turned and looked at him intently. "Unless you are the ghost."

"Woah. Let's not get crazy." Koichi gasped, putting his hands up. "Since when has a ghost needed a fire?" For all his composure, he was trembling.

Meramon shifted slightly. "True. Sorry, you see, digimon from all over have seen signs that the ghost has passed through. Mostly it's just speculation, but one digimon believes it's the spirit of a human from long ago still roaming the world." Meramon looked at him. "You're a human, aren't you?"

Koichi scratched his head, buying time. He had to chose his words carefully. "Yes." He began. "But I came to the digital world just recently. I plan to do some investigating of my own." _It's Koji. It has to be._

"Really? About what?" Meramon asked.

"A good friend of mine disappeared about a year ago." Koichi said, sincerely hoping Meramon didn't know about the time difference. "I think this is where he went."

"To the Dark Continent?" Meramon asked, intrigued.

"No." Koichi said quickly. "This is just where I ended up. But if you're searching for signs of the ghost here, perhaps we could find out more together?"

"Nah." Meramon waved off his offer with his hand. "I work alone."

"I see." Koichi said thoughtfully.


End file.
